Croatia World Cup '06 Team Profile

Croatia Kit 1	Croatia Kit 2

Ozren Podnar reports on the Croatia national side for Germany

Croatia may not be among the favourites in the forthcoming World Cup, but they have at least established themselves as a member of the elite. Since being admitted to international competitions by UEFA and FIFA, Croatia have qualified for five out of six major tournaments, and the one time they failed to do so, for the Euro'2000 finals, they did so by a single goal.

What makes the Croats proud is this amazing qualifying record: in all World Cup or Euro qualifying games since 1994, Croatia have suffered no more than five defeats, and considering World Cup qualifiers alone, just one - in September of 1997 in Copenhagen. Besides, the Croats have yet to be beaten in a competitive game at home.

In the qualifiers for the forthcoming World Cup finals, Croatia finished top of a very competitive Group 8, ahead of Sweden, Hungary, Bulgaria, Iceland and Malta. Croatia's two 1-0 wins over Sweden (with Darijo Srna on the score sheet both times), meant Zlatko Kranjcar's squad edged the Scandinavians due to a better head-to-head record.

Any Croatian team will always be compared with the one from the nineties, with Davor Suker, Zvonimir Boban, Robert Prosinecki and Robert Jarni, which earned a sensational third place finish at the 1998 World Cup. The current squad is less endowed with talent than the Golden Generation, relying instead on team spirit and the physical strength of all the individuals.

The coach Zlatko Kranjcar, appointed in July 2004, has been praised for putting every player in his natural position, renouncing the experimentation dear to his predecessor Otto Baric. The system used is usually 3-5-2 or 3-4-1-2, where his son Niko is just behind the strikers.

The current ideal starting XI for the World Cup has the following look: Butina; R. Kovac, Simunic, Tomas; Srna, Tudor, N. Kovac, Babic; Kranjcar; Prso, Olic (or Klasnic)

ANALYSIS

* The keepers Butina or Pletikosa are more than decent, although somewhat inferior to the legendary Drazen Ladic.
* The defense is the team's strongest component, a guarantee that Croatia will never be thrashed (unless Brazil proves different in the opening game of Group F in Berlin).
* The midfield has been the sore spot since the retirement of the trio Prosinecki-Boban-Asanovic. The young Niko Kranjcar is technical, talented and packs a potent shot, but lacks speed and running capacity. His namesake Kovac has precisely the opposite virtues and defects. Jerko Leko was expected to be the Croatian Ballack of sorts, but has sadly disappointed over the past two years. The stopper Igor Tudor has been recycled and is currently used as a defensive midfielder, with satisfactory results.
* The flanks are well covered by the indefatigable Srna on the right and Babic on the left.
* The attack is interesting and potentially prolific, but has recently been dented by injuries. Ivica Olic, considered Alen Boksic's successor, is recovering from a cruciate ligament surgery and Dado Prso's wobbling knees present a perennial threat for his fitness. To make things worse, Ivan Klasnic's shape in the national team has never come close to equaling his superb form in the German Bundesliga. Still, the cocktail, including the naturalized Brazilian Eduardo da Silva and Club Brugge's Bosko Balaban could be made to work.

INTERNATIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Third place in the 1998 World Cup in France
Quarter-finals in the Euro'1996 in England
King Hassan Cup in Morocco (1996)

WORLD CUP RECORD

Two appearances (France 1998 and Japan/Korea 2002)
Eight appearances as a part of the former Yugoslavia (1930, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1974, 1982 and 1990)

COLOURS

Red and white chequered shirts, white pants, blue socks

TEAM STARS

Dado Prso
Age: 31
Height: 187 cm
Weight: 78 kg
Club: Rangers
International career: 24 caps, 9 goals
A highly technical forward, nicknamed the "Croatian Brazilian" in his homeland. A late developer, languished in France's lower leagues before being discovered by Monaco in 1997. Spent two seasons on loan to Ajaccio, returned to Monaco and scored the title-winning goal in 2000. Further improvement saw him debut for Croatia in early 2003, play in the Champions League finals in 2004 and pick up two national Player of the Year awards.
With Rangers, he immediately won a League title and the hearts of fans, in love with his passionate fighting spirit.

Robert Kovac
Age: 31
Height: 182
Weight: 78
Club: Juventus
International career: 51 caps, 0 goals
An insurmountable defender, one of the best in Europe. When fit, he is capable of controlling any rival without even resorting to fouls. No wonder Croatia conceded three out of five goals during the qualifiers while Kovac was not on the pitch. Born in Germany, like his brother Niko, he has never played in the Croatian League.

Darijo Srna
Age: 23
Height: 180
Weight: 73
Club: Shakhtar Donetsk
International career: 31 caps, 8 goals
Don't get fooled by the odd spelling, his name is pronounced as a regular Dario. One of the best Croatian players of 2005. Better in the national team than in his club, Shakhtar Donetsk. His gallops down the right flank were the chief source of danger for Croatia's rivals. Possesses the calm and concentration to convert free kicks and penalties.

COACH

Zlatko Kranjcar (49). Born in Zagreb, in his playing days he was a great striker or mezzapunta for Dinamo Zagreb and Rapid Vienna. Registered 11 caps and two goals with Yugoslavia and two caps with Croatia.
As a coach, he is a staunch advocate of offensive play. While coaching his old club, Dinamo Zagreb, he won two League and Cup doubles (1996 and 1998), topping even that with another League title with NK Zagreb, the first trophy ever won by the smaller of two Zagreb clubs. Recently angered Guus Hiddink by claiming that "if Croatia were to fear Australia (in the first phase of the World Cup), that would mean something is wrong with us."

CROATIAN SQUAD

Goalkeepers Tomislav Butina (Club Bruges), Joe Didulica (Austria Vienna), Stipe Pletikosa (Hajduk Split),
Defenders Robert Kovac (Juventus), Dario Simic (AC Milan), Josip Simunic (Hertha Berlin), Mario Tokic (Austria Vienna), Stjepan Tomas (Galatasaray), Igor Tudor (Siena)
Midfielders Marko Babic (Bayer Leverkusen), Niko Kovac (Hertha Berlin), Niko Kranjcar (Hajduk Split), Ivan Leko (Club Bruges), Jerko Leko (Dynamo Kiev), Luka Modric (Dinamo Zagreb), Anthony Seric (Panathinaikos), Darijo Srna (Shakhtar Donetsk), Jurica Vranjes (Werder Bremen)
Forwards Bosko Balaban (Club Bruges), Ivan Bosnjak (Dinamo Zagreb), Ivan Klasnic (Werder Bremen), Ivica Olic (CSKA Moscow), Dado Prso (Rangers)

Ozren Podnar

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